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Notre Dame gets more money for being and independent b/c they get to schedule all their games, they get exclusive broadcasting rights and market their own apparel. One other reason is because there are no independents in college basketball its pretty impossible to do a schedule with out a conference. Also Notre Dame Football is more prestigious then Basketball.

Also teams that are in a conference and make a bowl have to divide their bowl earning with all the other teams in the conference. Notre Dame doesn't have to split anything with anybody. So those big BCS payouts are a lot bigger for ND than other schools.
I've also heard that Knute Rockne wanted to join the Big Ten for years back in the day and was not let in for various reasons.

Notre Dame gets more money for being and independent b/c they get to schedule all their games, they get exclusive broadcasting rights and market their own apparel. One other reason is because there are no independents in college basketball its pretty impossible to do a schedule with out a conference. Also Notre Dame Football is more prestigious then Basketball.

Notre Dame gets more money for being and independent b/c they get to schedule all their games, they get exclusive broadcasting rights and market their own apparel. One other reason is because there are no independents in college basketball its pretty impossible to do a schedule with out a conference. Also Notre Dame Football is more prestigious then Basketball.

I'm right there with you on ND this year. Its gonna be an average year because they are so young. I predict they will roll out Clausen for 80% of the snaps, giving Jones the other 20%.

Either way, we are losing to Michigan and USC by atleast 15.

Yea I have to agree with you guys. I hope they can keep it to just a loss or two going into Southern Cal but that maybe pushing it.
I don't think starting Clausen to start the season is smart. But I think we'll see him if they struggle early. I'm excited to see Armando Allen and some of the other big time recruits.

Coach Charlie Weis wasn't giving any hints Monday on who Notre Dame's starting quarterback will be this season - and doesn't plan to until the Fighting Irish take the field against Georgia Tech on Sept. 1.
''I certainly don't want to tell Georgia Tech what I'm doing because I'd rather they spent more time having to figure: Are they going to play a true drop-back quarterback? Are they going to play an athletic quarterback?'' Weis said. ''I'm not really in the business of giving out free information.''
Evan Sharply, Jimmy Clausen and Demetrius Jones are competing to replace Brady Quinn, who broke most of Notre Dame's passing records as a four-year starter. Weis had hoped to enter fall practice with two quarterbacks vying for the starting job, but said the competition has been too close.
Notre Dame is keeping so quiet about the quarterback competition, though, that quarterbacks coach Ron Powlus wouldn't answer any questions about the three.

Here are a few observations based on the videos from und.com and Irish Illustrated - as always, take them with a grain of salt…

* Quarterbacks were actually throwing today. Jones and Sharpley threw back and forth while Clausen threw with Ron Powlus – read into that what you want.
* Sharpley and Jones looked to be throwing it harder than Clausen who appeared to be lofting it a bit and concentrating more on mechanics. Regardless, the important thing here is that Clausen was throwing despite rumors this summer that he wouldn’t be able to right away.
* Today’s practice was forced inside the Loftus Center because of overnight and early morning rains soaking Cartier Field.
* Today’s practice was also the last practice of the year which the Irish are not permitted to wear full pads – they were in helmets and shoulder pads.
* DJ Hord looks quicker and quicker every time I watch him run through these drills – he looks very smooth in his motion and glides through a lot of these drills.
* Armando Allen is another guy who just looks fluid in these drills – it looks effortless when he’s running.
* James Aldridge’s cuts look better and better each day as his confidence in his knee continues to grow. Travis Thomas has looked very sharp and has all the confidence of a starting running back, but Aldridge is going to make it tough not to play him.
* Duval Kamara is just physically impressive. I know its been said many times already, but the kid just doesn’t look like a freshman. If he can pick up the offense quick enough I don’t think there’s anyway he’ll be kept off the field.
* Speaking of Kamara, he gets compared to Maurice Stovall a lot because of their physical similarities, but I think Kamara just might be quicker than Stovall.
* Mike Ragone looks very similar to Jeff Samardzija in his #83 jersey so far - he’s got a ways to go in terms of adding weight to play tight end on an every down basis, but he’s another guy whose athleticism is going to be hard to keep on the sidelines.
* Jones has a bit of a funky throwing motion, but he certainly looks the part – he might be the most physically put together candidate for the position.
* Clausen easily has the quickest release of the quarterbacks and in terms of throwing mechanics, he throws the nicest ball.
* Brian Smith has been practicing with the outside linebackers, but just by looking at his frame I would guess he will eventually move inside. He’s listed at 230, which could be a bit generous, but it looks like he could easily bulk up and move inside.
* Kerry Neal looked quicker today than he did yesterday.
* Across the board, the linebackers this year look MUCH bigger than last year’s group. The young guys like Neal, Brian Smith, and Morrice Richardson all have good size and some of the upper classmen like Kevan Washington and Scott Smith look considerably bigger. After seeing Notre Dame linebackers get steamrolled last year, having added bulk at the position is certainly a welcomed sign.
* Robert Hughes is another freshman who is just impressive physically - he’s easily the biggest half back already. Haywood has be seen in the All Access videos giving Hughes some one on one instruction a couple of times already which suggests to me that the staff has plans to use him early on.
* David Bruton looked a lot bigger in spring than he did at the end of last season and he looks even bigger now. Bruton could have a very, very nice season this year and will end up being an upgrade over N’Dukwe – especially with the new defense.